Amtrak rolled out its new high-speed train in the Northeast Corridor, calling it the first in the country. But recently customers have been telling the I-Team that the service has not been as advertised with delays and equipment problems.
The August launch of the Acela NextGen trains kicked off with fireworks. Richard and Pam Jackson were among the first passengers to try the service. The couple had been visiting their son and his family in New York and took the train back to Boston. Pam says the cars look futuristic and very sleek.
Passengers say doors malfunctioned
The pair tells the I-Team they were excited to be onboard, but thought the trip didn’t live up to the hype. With delays, the trip took more than five hours for the Jacksons to get home. In part, because the doors on the cars malfunctioned and would not open when the trains pulled into the stations, which caused delays. Richard has claustrophobia and was concerned about being able to get out in the event of an emergency.
“So almost every stop had this problem,” Pam Jackson said. “The bathroom doors were also similar, and people were a little anxious about going to the bathroom hoping that they would be able to get out.”
The couple says there were a lot of problems for a trip that cost them $400 each for the roundtrip tickets.
High-speed trains on low-speed system
Transportation expert Carl Berkowitz says glitches on the NextGen Acela are to be expected. “Some of the complaints are valid,” Berkowitz said. “But in general, it’s a start-up, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”
It is work that Berkowitz says will take years. While the new trains can reach speeds of 160 miles per hour, right immediately, the system is not set up to support it.
Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images 
“The infrastructure to make it a high-speed train, a 160 mile an hour train, doesn’t exist yet,” Berkowitz said.
Berkowitz said the system is a retrofit, and Amtrak is trying to put a high-speed train on a low-speed system and points out that the Northeast Corridor is shared with commuter trains and freight trains.
While the work won’t happen overnight, the worth of getting the NextGen trains up to speed will create other opportunities to roll it out in other parts of the United States. “So, this is an important test case,” Berkowitz said.
While the upgrades are in process, passengers should enjoy the perks of the new trains and pack their patience. For the Jacksons, they say that might mean they decide to fly to New York until the kinks are worked out of the system.
Amtrak has offered the couple a credit of $75 each for the inconvenience.
Amtrak says “some infancy issues”
The I-Team reached out to Amtrak who said in a statement:
“Since its inception, NextGen Acela trains traveling from Boston to New York City have an on-time performance (within 15 minutes of schedule) of 72%, and 87% of arriving within 30 minutes. Some trains that were on time in New York arrive late in Washington, DC, causing these on-time performance numbers at the final terminal to drop to 63% and 79%, respectively.
Similar to the introduction of new trains all over the world, and the expectation of when they begin service, NextGen Acela has had some infancy issues with the fleet – mostly with the doors. Amtrak is working with Alstom, the train manufacturer, to address these issues, and they have dedicated staff on board each train to mitigate any issues that might occur.
In terms of ticket cost, there are no additional charges for the frequencies operating with NextGen Acela trainsets. We will continue to dynamically revenue manage all departures per demand, regardless of the equipment type used for any given departure.”
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